


The Ferris Wheel

by just_another_classic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5872264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_classic/pseuds/just_another_classic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Swan, did you know that there is a large rotating wheel that can lift its passengers skyward?” </p>
<p>After reading a book, Killian discovers the wonder that is the Ferris Wheel. Emma formulates a plan to show him one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ferris Wheel

**Author's Note:**

> Both Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City" and Ron Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton" are referenced in this fic! Both books are awesome, and I highly recommend them.

“Swan, did you know that there is a large rotating wheel that can lift its passengers skyward?”

 

Killian asks Emma this the moment she enters the bedroom, still toweling down her hair after a quick nighttime shower. He’s sprawled on their bed, book in hand, looking at her with an awed sort of expression, almost as if the tome he’d been reading just revealed something magical. And to Killian, maybe it just did.

 

His question catches her off-guard at first. She had not necessarily been expecting any sort of sudden inquiries, her mind elsewhere sorting through all the tasks that lay on her to-do list for the next day. She recovers quickly enough though, mentally processing just what her pirate means by “large rotating wheel.”

 

“Oh, your mean the Ferris Wheel?”

 

Killian looks surprised, almost as if he didn’t expect her to know of the thing. “You’ve experienced one?”

 

“A few times yeah. They’re pretty common at fairs and amusement parks and the like,” Emma says as she drops the damp towel to the floor, ignoring the flash of annoyance that crosses Killian’s face at her brazen show of untidiness – a characteristic he’s been trying to get her to break, mostly to no avail. “They’re pretty okay, I guess, nothing too wild. Tilt-a-Whirls are much better.”

 

“This book makes it seem like quite the mechanical feat,” he tells her as he slides a bookmark into the text. He's always some meticulous about taking care of his books. Emma could only imagine how he would react if you discovered she was a dog-ear kind of girl.

 

“Oh, and what else does your book say?” She inquires, flicking off the lights as she crawls into bed beside him.

 

It’s become a sort of bedroom ritual for the two of them, Killian recounting information he’s picked up from his latest book. As such, over the course of a few months, Emma has learned quite a bit. She now knows more about the guy on the ten dollar bill than she ever needed to know. She can recount quite a number of WWII battles, something that surely would have impressed her old high school teachers. Now, she’s learning all about Chicago’s World’s Fair. She honestly never knew it had one. Thanks to Killian though, and his enjoyment of sharing newfound information, she does now. (One of the many perks of keeping him around.)

 

Killian is quite the reader, a habit he said he picked up to stave off bored during quiet moments on his ship. He sticks to mainly non-fiction in an effort to learn more about the history of realm in which he inhabits. Emma also knows, though he won’t admit it, that he finds comfort in the familiarity of books. They are one of the few things that mostly stayed the same between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke. (Kindles notwithstanding, though she hasn’t introduced him to that technological device yet.)

 

They lay like that for awhile, Killian’s arms wrapped around her as he highlights the more interesting parts of his book. His fascination with the Ferris Wheel and other engineering marvels present at the World’s Fair is evident. As much as his “Man Out of Time” shtick may annoy others – such as her father – it only endears him further to her. It makes her wish that she could experience so many new things the way he can and has. Sure, Ferris Wheels were never the most exciting carnival rides to here, but they way Killian’s eyes light up as he recounts the book makes her reconsider their merits. If only they could see one…

 

It doesn’t take her long to formulate a plan. The next morning, a quick Google search and a few clicks of a mouse turn her plan into a reality.

 

All that’s left to do is wait.

 

She wakes him up one Saturday morning a few weeks later – a rare occurrence as he is normally the first to rise. He groans in protest, does his best to coax her back into bed and into the circle of his arms, but she resists, pushing and prodding until he acquiesces with her desires. Killian doesn’t question why she wants him awake, instead falling into the familiar routine of following her lead.

 

After a shower that involved far more than just bathing, they share a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, and briefly Emma finds herself longing briefly for Zabar’s. But that thought is quickly vanquished as she looks across the dining room table to admire the man who shares her home and heart. She would trade all of the lox in Manhattan to continue to have him by her side.  _And she did, didn’t she?_   Trade it all, partially for him.When she drank that potion and walked away from her stable New York life. She just didn’t realize it at the time. Of course, now that any magic surrounding the town line is gone – at least for the time being – she supposes she can have both, maybe someday introduce him to New York without the threat of flying monkeys and lost memories.

 

She just has one other trip to focus on first.

 

It isn’t until after they finish breakfast and Emma goes off in search of Killian’s prosthetic hand that he asks just what she is planning.

 

“You’ll see,” Emma replies, her voice taking a mischievous lilt that earns a quirked eyebrow and devious grin from her pirate. It’s clear that on some level he enjoys being the dark about her plans, which suits her well because she enjoys the element of surprise. “Now do you want to adventure or what?”

 

It’s just the two of them as they drive over the town line, Henry now too preoccupied with some girl to venture outside of Storybrooke’s bounds. This plan normally would have been something he would have joined in on with glee, even going as far to bestow it with an operation name. (Operation Seagull, perhaps?) She knows about the whole “time marches on” thing, but it doesn’t mean she has to like it. It unsettles her, the fact that her young son is now developing into a teenager, and it feels just like yesterday – not years – that the adventurous ten-year-old unexpectedly arrived outside her door.  As if sensing her melancholy, Killian rubs his prosthetic against her thigh and offers her a comforting smile. Unwilling to allow her son’s missing presence to completely dampen her spirits, she offers a returning grin and squeezes him arm.

 

Today really is going to be wonderful.

 

They drive for what feels like hours. Killian makes for an entertaining companion, his unfamiliarity with the world outside of Storybrooke leading him to comment on sights and billboards along the way. (“Quite concerned with my eternal damnation, aren’t they, Swan?”) Were it anyone else, Emma probably would have considered the running commentary annoying, but not with Killian. Maybe it's the whole True Love thing working its magic.

 

Every now and then, Emma steals a glance at him, admiring his profile and the way he looks in new sunglasses. He calls them wonderful devices, something he wished for during the years at sea navigating blinding waters, and she is inclined to agree with assessment, albeit for different reasons. Between the leather and jewelry, the new aviators really do add to that whole pirate rockstar look. It’s an unbelievably sexy look, and maybe there are some positives to Henry skipping this road trip.

 

They arrive at their destination just before noon. Killian raises his eyebrows as he takes in the sight of the long line of beach flanked by various high-rise hotels. He seems confused at first as they exit the bug commenting, “Not that I didn’t enjoy the ride, love, but if you simply wanted a beach, we could have stayed in Storybrooke.”

 

“Patience, Sailor, it’s not the beach we’re here for,” Emma replies as she takes his hand, tugging him to the boardwalk, “Okay, so I need you to close your eyes.”

 

“So much secrecy,” Killian sighs, but he complies anyway.

 

She leads him toward the boardwalk, carefully avoiding other beach-goers along the way. Killian makes a few teasing comments about how she is leading him to his death – she still doesn’t know how he can joke about it so easily, but he’s always been full of surprises – but follows her lead anyway, squeezing her hand tighter. She relishes in feeling of his now-solitary ring pressing against her fingers, the one that mirrors her own. It’s a reminder of a different sort of promise, the one that says they’ve earned their own “happily ever after.“

 

Today’s surprise is just one example of that happy ending.

 

When they reach their destination, she pulls him to a stop. Before allowing him to open his eyes, she takes in the sight, heart fluttering in her chest. Normally, he is the romantic one, surprising her with thoughtful gifts and tokens of his appreciation. It’s time she gifted him with something of her own machinations.

 

“Okay, you can look now. _Ta-da_!” Emma points rather dramatically toward the pier at the end of the boardwalk, smiling broadly in excitement.

 

Killian’s blue eyes widen as he takes in the sight before him. “It that what I think it is?”

 

“A Ferris Wheel? Yep. You like my surprise?”

 

Killian answers her with a reverent kiss. They stay that way for awhile, lips moving together, his appreciation evident with each slide of his tongue. It isn't until some passer-by shouts "Get a room!" that they break. Killian sends the man a dirty glare before turning his attention back to Emma.

 

"Apologies for that man's rudeness, but I do truly appreciate you bringing me here,"  he says, eyes roaming back to the ride in interest and amazement. “Will you do me the honors of sharing a ride?”

 

“You better believe it.”

 

After all, she still needs to introduce him to the best part of the Ferris Wheel ride, one she is sure the book didn’t mention: the kiss at the top.

 

 

 


End file.
